Voters in Missouri made their pick for president while holding mixed views about the country’s direction, according to an expansive AP survey of the American electorate.
The race between President Donald Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden concluded Tuesday as the nation remains in the throes of a global public health crisis and mired in the economic downturn it brought on. AP VoteCast found that 47% of Missouri voters said the U.S. is on the right track and 53% of voters said it is headed in the wrong direction.
Here’s a snapshot of who voted and what matters to them, based on preliminary results from AP VoteCast, a nationwide survey of about 133,000 voters and nonvoters — including 3,119 voters and 616 nonvoters in Missouri — conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago.
TRUMP VS BIDEN
In the race for president, Trump was about even with Biden among voters under 45. Trump was preferred over Biden among older voters.
Trump had an apparent advantage among college-educated voters. Trump had an advantage among voters without a college degree.
Voters in cities were more likely to support Biden over Trump. Voters in small towns and rural areas were more likely to favor Trump. Suburban voters were split.
RACE FOR GOVERNOR
In the race for governor, Mike Parson was roughly even with Nicole Galloway among voters under 45 while older voters were more likely to support Parson over Galloway.
College-educated voters leaned toward Parson. Parson had an advantage over Galloway among voters without a college degree.
Parson led among voters in small towns and rural areas. Voters in cities were more likely to back Galloway. Parson was about tied with Galloway among suburban voters.
FACING THE PANDEMIC
The coronavirus pandemic has spread through the U.S. for roughly eight months, killing more than 230,000 Americans. Overall, 21% of voters said the virus in the U.S. is completely or mostly under control, and 33% said it’s somewhat under control. Forty-six percent of voters think the coronavirus is not at all under control in this country.
ON THE ISSUES
The coronavirus pandemic was top of mind for many voters in Missouri. Thirty-six percent said it is the most important issue facing the country today.
Voters also considered the economy a major issue, with 31% saying it ranked at the top.
Nine percent named health care, 6% named racism and 6% named law enforcement.
NATIONAL ECONOMY
Voters were closely divided in their assessments of the nation’s economy. Overall, 50% described economic conditions in the U.S. as excellent or good, and 49% called them not so good or poor.
STAYING AT HOME
Among registered voters who chose not to cast a ballot in Missouri, 24% said that was because they don’t like politics generally, 18% said their vote doesn’t matter and 16% said they don’t like the candidates.
In Missouri, 68% of nonvoters were younger than 45 and 83% did not have a college degree.
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AP created this story automatically using results from AP VoteCast, a survey of the American electorate conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago for Fox News, NPR, PBS NewsHour, Univision News, USA Today Network, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press. The survey of 3,119 voters in Missouri was conducted for eight days, concluding as polls closed. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. The survey combines a random sample of registered voters drawn from the state voter file and self-identified registered voters selected from nonprobability online panels. The margin of sampling error for voters is estimated to be plus or minus 2.2 percentage points. Find more details about AP VoteCast’s methodology at https://ap.org/votecast.
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For AP’s complete coverage of the U.S. presidential elections: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2020
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